After the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history you know I’m going to say something. Being a political junky, I’m not surprised by the closure, but I am concerned and confused. This last shutdown showed us how far both sides are willing to go and now each side appears to be taunting each other. First President Trump grounded Speaker Nancy Pelosi from traveling and in retaliation Speaker Pelosi postponed the state of the Union.

In the latest news, there is talk about the Trump Administration declaring an emergency along our southern border to fund the wall. I believe it is safe to say that we are probably going to see another government shutdown at the end of next week.

If you are not aware, there are a large number of federal workers in Colorado and a shutdown affects the Colorado economy. One of my neighbors works for TSA and has gone a month without pay. He has been asking around the neighborhood if he could do some work for my HOA so he could put food on his table. It kinda freaks me out when the guy whose job it is to keep bad guys off planes is struggling to pay his bills. I know that federal employees have integrity but at what point would they turn a blind eye, so they don’t have to choose between paying the rent or not eating. The same could be said about federal prison guards; I bet prisoners are always trying to bribe them.

Now the part that is confusing to me is why didn’t Congress pass a spending bill when Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate? The government shutdown did start on their watch, and they just extended the shutdown until the democrats controlled the House. If border wall funding was so necessary to Republicans why didn’t they pass it back in December? I believe that this is nothing more than preparing for the 2020 election and both sides are playing for keeps in the Presidential election. Hopefully one day we the people will figure out this experiment in democracy, and I don’t feel like this country I love is on Jerry Springer on an episode titled “And you Think you had Problems.”

I hope everyone who is reading this would agree with me that we don’t want to be the country that is known for putting their employees to work without pay for a month on end. It’s frustrating when the greatest country in the world closes itself for political gain. Most politicians don’t keep all their promises, and a border wall is just a campaign promise that just can’t be kept. In the next week or two, I will be posting on my website codyengelhaupt.com what I think is going through President Trump’s mind about this shutdown. I hope you will visit to find out.

Cody Engelhaupt is a Sterling native who graduated from Sterling High School and Northeastern Junior College and now resides in Littleton.